Just Gesticulating, My Dear
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: A summer adventure never meant so much. Finally home and crossing paths, Teddy Lupin and Dominique Weasley find out what it means to go from friends to something more. A special 8-part fic for BlueMango's birthday. Ch2 is up.
1. Question 1

**Just Gesticulating, My Dear**

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

**Note for all chapters**: The _Harry Potter_ characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. This is a Teddy/Dominique story to celebrate one of my best mates, **BlueMango**'s, birthday. This is based on a list I've seen in people's profiles—"What the gesture means…," so I hope you like it. ;] Read, review, and enjoy!

- ^-^3

**Question 1: Holding hands means…?**

No one expected Dominique to be home this summer. Her first year working under Madame Maxime at Beauxbatons had kept her in France during that first summer, so the family took it in stride, thinking that Dominique was still getting settled into her new life as Madame Maxime's replacement-trainee. Then another year passed, and still Dominique didn't come home. Another and another and another, and it appeared doubtful Dominique would visit her family.

So when no one was home at Shell Cottage when Dominique Gabrielle Weasley turned up on the doorstep, the witch was surprised.

"Go figure," she grunted to herself as she let herself in. "I get the chance to come home and, since it's last minute and I couldn't send a letter ahead of time, Mum, Dad, and Louis aren't home." Dominique knew Victoire wouldn't be, since Vic had married their old Herbology professor, Neville Longbottom. But last Dominique knew, Louis was still at home with their parents.

On the bright side, nothing much had changed inside Shell Cottage. Family pictures were still where Dom remembered them, the kitchen still looked unused, and the place was ten times cleaner than the Burrow had ever been. It felt fantastic to be home, and the blonde woman couldn't fight the little grin that curved up the ends of her lips.

Behind her, in the next room near the front door, there was a knock. Dominique hurried back to the door, hoping to find her parents when she flung it open. But when she saw who was standing there, her heart missed a beat.

"Oh. Dom!" Teddy Lupin blinked, his fist stopped in midair as though he'd been about to knock again from impatience. He gaped at her. "Dom," the man dumbly repeated.

Dominique, too, stared back, her face flushed. "Hello, Teddy…"

"It's been, what, five years?"

She nodded.

"Wow…" He looked her up and down before moving his arms and drawing her into a big hug. "Sorry," Teddy said, pulling away. "It's just…five years. Wow."

Dominique laughed. "I know, I know. Little Dominique grew up, didn't she?"

"Yeah," the wizard answered, his voice soft. He must've realized how his tone had changed, since his next cleared his throat, his cheeks red. "I just—I was stopping by to, um—"

"See my parents for something?"

"Yeah. Some Ministry stuff pressing Gringotts boundaries, so we could use Bill… But you don't want to hear about that."

"It's fine. They're not home, though," Dominique replied as she stepped aside to let him in.

"Why not?"

"I only found out this morning I was coming home for the summer, so I couldn't give them a head's up," she said, grabbing a biscuit from a jar that hadn't moved in the time she'd been away.

Teddy followed her into the kitchen. "Oh. So you're just back for the summer, then?"

"It's a well-deserved break." Dominique looked around. "Well, um… I could give Dad your message, if you want. You probably need to get back to work." She glanced at her watch; it was only a little after noon.

Teddy grinned, and her stomach squeezed and her toes curled as she saw his hair unable to stop shifting from various shades and tints of turquoise. "Actually."

"Actually?"

"Actually," he repeated, "I could call it an early day."

"Won't you get in trouble for that?" she asked, her throat tightening as he walked over and leaned against the counter near her. Sheesh—in five years, Teddy had become a _lot_ handsomer.

He grinned, and Dominique had to fight a girlish squeak—something she hadn't done for a long time. "I've done the work of two people forever in the Auror Office. Maybe I should take a long vacation, too."

"Really? How long?"

"You're staying the summer, aren't you?"

Dominique mentally scolded herself and quelled the giddy feeling in her gut. She'd seen and dated her fair share of good guys, but Teddy… He'd always been the most charming. And now here he was, charming the socks off her. Eh. If she were wearing socks. Sandals were more suited to summer, anyway. She nodded.

Teddy crossed his arms in front of his broad chest, thoughtful. "Hmm. I think I could use a summer to myself."

"I'm sure you want to get back home, though—a girlfriend and time to kill—"

"There's no girlfriend," he stated, locking eyes with her. For a moment, his eyes were their steady green-brown-blue swirls meeting her own hazel ones. Then he was grinning again, albeit impishly this time. "Nice of you to slip in that probe, Dom."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "We're both adults here."

"That we are. So you won't mind telling me you're still single."

"AH! Wha…?" Dominique stuck her tongue out at him. "How dare you guess at a lady's love life?"

"Ah, Dom, if you're a lady, then I'm a fairy. But really. I think I've guessed right." He looked her in the eye, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"You did. But slow down, lover boy. I remember leaving England friends with you."

"And now you're back," he stated cheekily. Teddy raised his eyebrows, putting her on the spot.

"I'm back…for relaxation," Dominique said, emphasizing the last bit.

Teddy laughed, and it was a wonderful, good, _familiar_ sound to hear. "All right, all right. Enough hitting on you. Care to blush over a late lunch, then, instead of here in your kitchen?"

She scrunched up her nose. "I do not blush."

"You're a Weasley. You blush all the way up to your ears."

"…"

He nudged her arm. "C'mon. Lunch and the chance to catch up."

"…all right, I suppose." She was caught off-guard as he grabbed her hand and they left Shell Cottage. It was funny and light and just plain pleasant to be so comfortable and awkward with someone she'd once known so well. Though Dominique knew it—just as with Shell Cottage, nothing had changed about Teddy either. …except for that spark of electricity they had as he tugged on her hand to draw her close for Side-Along Apparition.

Coming home had never been so rewarding.

**Answer 1: It means we definitely love each other.**

- ^-^3

**XDDD w00t! This fic is off to a great start! :D Merlin, I have some great things planned for them…! X3 Teddy is just so irresistible. B] Yup. ****Side note****: The pairing Victoire/Neville was discovered by me (making it a Mew & Mor Weird Pairing), so I'd appreciate a mention if you used them, thanks. :)**

**Reviewing just might Apparate you to chapter 2 sooner than you think!**

**-mew-tsubaki :}**


	2. Question 2

**Just Gesticulating, My Dear**

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

- ^-^3

**Question 2: A slap on the butt means…?**

Teddy hadn't known what to expect when he'd appeared on Bill and Fleur's stoop a week ago. But…bloody hell. The last thing he'd expected was Dominique's return.

He was plenty happy about it, though. More so than he thought he would've been, or should be. After all, the last time he'd seen Dom… Well, she was right. They'd been friends, good friends. But that had been it. That's all they were. Now…

The Metamorphmagus couldn't believe he hadn't really _seen_ her, _noticed_ her before. How? She was beautiful—tall (though not as much as him), blonde, nicely-shaped, wickedly clever, composed… She put all the other witches Teddy had fancied to shame. And she continued to do so every day, as he had not let that one lunch date stop there. He dropped by Shell Cottage every morning when Dominique was up before her family, and—luckily—it hadn't gotten on anyone's nerves.

_Is this what it means_, he wondered as he waited outside for her one evening, _to fall head-over-heels in love?_ He shook his head. That couldn't be it. She was home, they hadn't seen each other in a while, and he—he—he was lusting after her. Yes. That had to be the answer. Otherwise he would never have jumped the gun and made sure she was single. No, of course not…

"Hey, Teddy," she said, looking at him with those pretty hazel eyes.

His mouth went dry. Oh, yeah. As though _lust_ had anything to do with the kind of glow he saw around her. _Blame it on the Veela blood_. Which was another stupid thing to convince himself of; Victoire and Neville had told him that the Veela in Vic and Dom was too diluted to do much. "Hey, Dom."

"Aren't you tired of me yet?" she asked. She laughed as she sat on the ground beside him.

"No. You're a fun person, Dom."

Her laughter subsided and she gave him a look. "Teddy…you see me every day. You don't have to entertain me if you don't want to."

Teddy watched her for a while, quiet. "You remember that time," he finally said, "when you were fifteen and I was twenty and we both watched Vic snog Neville in front of the _whole_ family as a graduation present unto herself?"

She furrowed her brow. "Of course. How could I forget? But why bring that up now?"

"You saw how hurt I was, even though you probably had guessed before that—just as I had—that it was coming."

Dominique frowned. "…yeah."

"And in that moment, when they kissed, you looked at me. Your face said you wanted to hug me and tell me it was all right, would be all right, that Vic had betrayed both of us by not telling either of us."

"You're reading into it, Teddy," she sighed. She stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed again. "I was a…kid then."

"Frankly, so was I," he scoffed. He looked at her, even though she wouldn't meet his gaze. "But come on. Are you really going to say you didn't…at least…_empathize_ with me?"

Dominique pursed her dark lips. "Teddy…five years is a long time. Things change. People change. It's—it's almost as though I'm getting to know you again. I've met a great guy who happens to be a Metamorphmagus," she added with a smirk, "and I've learned that his favorite color is green because it's the color of Muggle money, he hates Wednesdays because it means the week's still not over, and he wishes not for world peace or war but a little bit of mayhem so he didn't have to do as much paperwork instead of fieldwork in the Auror Office." She stopped for a breath and they burst out laughing.

"Okay, so I'm a bit of a talker." Teddy looked up at the dusky sky. "But Dom… I'm… I'm not really getting to know an amazing girl. I'm seeing an old female friend who I just know still likes playing Seeker but watching Beaters, refuses to eat any kind of bubblegum, and never did realize that she twirls this one lock of hair on the right side of her face when she's thinking of what to say next," he finished, catching her fingers and trapping said lock of hair between their hands. He gently smiled. "I know you, Dominique, I do."

The blonde witch frowned again. "You really haven't changed, Teddy, thinking you know everything." She poked him in the chest and stood. "I was going to hang out with some of my cousins today—Lily says she's throwing a party, since I'm not the only one home after a while." She held out her hand. "You can join me, if you like."

Teddy got up and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'll come. You haven't missed a day without me."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh Merlin…! Hey—last one to Disapparate's a rotten Flobberworm!"

"HEY! WAIT!"

- ^-^3

It was already pretty loud at Lily's apartment, and it got louder when Lily answered the door and saw Dominique and Teddy standing there.

"Dom!" She jumped on her cousin and hugged the life out of her. She then dragged the both of them into the party. "I can't believe we're all together!"

"'All'?" Dominique echoed. She and Teddy looked around.

Teddy counted Victoire, Louis, Lucy, Molly, Freddie, Roxanne, Rose, Hugo, Al, and James—add in Scorpius, Lorcan, Lysander, Al's girlfriend Calytrix, and James' girlfriend Alethea, and they really all were there. Teddy couldn't remember when they'd last all been the same room. Even getting just the kids Potter-Weasley clan gathered at one function had been impossible for about the past ten years. The Metamorphmagus let out a low whistle. "Wow."

The expression on Dom's face matched his astonishment. "I can't believe it, either," she said in an echo of Lily.

James and Al saw Teddy and immediately converged on him. Teddy took a firewhiskey from James and grinned. "You two seem to be getting on well."

"Ah, Teddy," James started, slinging an arm around his godbrother's shoulders. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but the single life sucks. You should join us taken men."

"I'd say Chang has you wrapped around her little finger," Teddy poked, gesturing to Alethea across the room.

"He's completely whipped," Al informed him.

"And Miss Zabini keeps you tame, too, I presume?"

Al glared at Teddy, though his face was red. "Callie and I are equals in our relationship."

Some of the girls erupted into howls of laughter. "Tell us that one again, Potter!" Calytrix laughed. Dominique giggled along with her and the others.

Teddy smiled and turned to the boys. "So what's with the reunion?"

"I get the first question!" James interrupted. "What's with you finally taking time off work?"

"Harry told you guys?"

"That, and it's kinda easy to figure out when you don't show up almost every other day to eat with the family."

The Metamorphmagus rolled his shoulders. "I thought…it would be a nice opportunity. You?"

"I've been away, traveling on and off with Thea and learning my trade from Ollivander."

"So you're really going to be making wands?" Teddy asked.

"Yes, I am, and I'd appreciate no awful puns, thank you very much."

"It hasn't stopped me in the least bit," Al whispered to Teddy, and they exchanged a conspiratorial grin. Al straightened up. "And…," he drawled, turning Teddy so they were looking at the girls again, "I don't believe anything has stopped you, either. No one missed the fact that you arrived with Dominique, Teddy."

Teddy had the manners to blush, and he gripped his bottle of firewhiskey tighter. "I won't deny she's attractive…"

"But…?"

He frowned. "You didn't rush things with Calytrix. I won't rush Dom. I just have a—a thing for her."

"A thing," Al repeated, both eyebrows raised.

"A thing."

Al looked him up and down. "You know, I wondered why you two hadn't been closer before she left."

The statement was an utter surprise to Teddy. "What? Why?"

"Because you guys kind of click. It never seems forced with you two, friendly or not." The Potter son shrugged. "Besides, you obviously like her, considering your eyes can't leave her alone."

Teddy pursed his lips. "You didn't rush it with Callie," he said again. "And it's not as though I woke up one day and decided I fancied her. Dom's my friend."

Al looked at him as though a Death Eater had appeared in the room. "And that doesn't mean you can be something more?" He scoffed and shook his head and left Teddy to tune out James' prattling. And Teddy had to wonder why Al's question hadn't occurred to him sooner.

- ^-^3

As the festivities wound down, Teddy finished making his circuit around the room. He'd discovered Louis and Hugo were as stubborn friends as ever, Lucy and Freddie seemed to be awfully close, and Molly was seeing some bloke, Corner, at the Ministry.

"Getting to be late, huh?" Dominique said beside him, spooking him bad enough that he dropped his slice of cake on his shirt. "Oops. Sorry." She took her napkin and swiped the crumbs away.

Teddy froze, unable to move with her hand on his chest. He slowly looked down at her and waited until she looked up at him. She, too, understood how close they were.

"Oh, guys! I didn't tell you!"

Teddy swore at the lucky-yet-unlucky interruption from Lily. "Yeah, Lils?" he asked, and Dominique withdrew her touch without a word.

Lily dragged Lysander behind her. "I forgot you wouldn't know. Lysander's my boyfriend," she beamed, and Lysander—still stuck in his shy years despite being halfway between Lily's and Dom's ages—turned as red as Rose's hair. "We've been together for a year now."

Teddy put his hands on his hips. "And you just happened not to tell me?"

She rolled her eyes. "_This_ is why I hesitated telling my own brothers. Honestly, Teddy! I can take care of myself and you know Lysander—he couldn't harm a fly."

The Lupin son smirked at the Scamander twin. "Yes, little Sander is harmless, isn't he?"

"Teddy," Lily said sternly. "Don't even think about intimidating him. You know better than anyone that I'm second only to my mother with the Bat-Bogey Hex."

He paled. "Eh heh, never mind…"

"Showing off your boyfriend again?" Roxanne teased, nudging Lily on her Lysander-free side. Roxanne pulled a face for Dom and Teddy. "She makes an effort to stake her claim on him. We've _all_ been given the 'Lysander's my boyfriend speech' while Lils give us the 'back off' eye."

"Do not!" Lily retorted.

Teddy and Dominique laughed, and he liked how Roxie smoothly sailed into a joke. Besides Dom, the most fun Weasley probably had to be Roxanne. She could have people at a funeral in a good mood in a second. Though sometimes she was awkward around the others—she didn't handle angst and drama very well—she was a firework in a room full of ammunition.

And if Teddy didn't know better, she was giving him her hungry eye.

He shook his head and looked off to the side at Rose and Scorpius, who were bickering. You know. Just in case. That way Dominique wouldn't get the wrong impression.

Unfortunately, Lily had deemed her little visit over, and she and Lysander walked away only to announce that they were calling it a night. Calytrix and Alethea helped Lily and Lysander clean up, and Dominique tugged on Teddy's arm. "What, you're okay with being alone with me again?" he gently prodded.

Dominique gave him a look. "No… But it's late and you escorted me here. Doesn't a gentleman escort a lady back home when the night's over?" she asked coyly, giving him a wink that was certainly not that of a lady.

Teddy didn't mind that, though. He gave her his arm to link and they started down the street when a familiar voice halted them.

"So you two are…?" Roxanne said as they turned around. She wagged her pointer finger between them, her eyes on Dominique's hand in Teddy's.

Dominique stiffened, which Teddy felt in her hand, and she smiled—if you could call it that—at her cousin. She removed her hand from his. "Sorry, Roxie?"

Roxanne smiled back and met Dominique's gaze. "I mean you, Teddy, you and Teddy, because if Teddy needs someone to hang out with now that he's taken a break," she added with a look to Teddy.

Teddy didn't like this very much. It was bad enough that things were squeamish between him and Dom—the last thing he need was to add oil to the fire. "Roxanne, we—" He swallowed his words when something hit his arse. It wasn't a wand or a broom or someone bumping into him, though…

While his hair turned bright orange, Dominique patted his rump again and rested her hand lightly and casually on his hip, moving closer to him with a triumphant grin on her face. "What was your question, Rox?"

Roxanne laughed. "Oh Godric, Dom! I knew it." She winked at them. "It's okay. I won't tell—yet. Have a good night, you two…and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She waved to them and Disapparated.

The blonde witch released a breath. "Jeez…"

"JEEZ, INDEED!" Teddy gawked at her. He had to jog after her as she continued down the street without him.

Even in the moonlight, Dominique was adorably flustered. "What? You—you're type isn't Roxie."

"Shyeah. And feeling me up?"

She smirked. "It's all part of the territory, isn't it?"

"What was all that malarkey about me 'reading into it'?" he retorted.

"Flirting?"

Teddy grabbed her arm. "Dominique, I'm serious."

She gave him a look. "Perhaps…you might have…had a point. In all that you said."

"Oh? I've turned you _that_ quickly?" He shook his head.

"No, you haven't, but…" Dominique cupped his cheek with her hand. "Maybe I should take a chance. It could be good for me."

"Like the chance you just took to get Roxanne away from me?"

"I guess I was staking my claim," she replied, sounding a bit like Lily. "But I'm going to take my time with this." Dominique gestured between them and stopped, hugging his arm to her.

As they Disapparated, Teddy held onto her, one thought running through his mind. _Waiting is going to be hellish agony._

**Answer 2: "That's mine."**

- ^-^3

**X3 SQUEE! I ended up loving this chapter, despite being as confused and Dom and Teddy. XD But it's nice to see Teddy's view on things. I think they'll heed to Dom's wanting to take things slow…eh, we'll see. Dom's bold move was just perfect. B]**

**A note on pairings: More M&MWPs by me—that hint of Lucy/Freddie and mention of Molly2/Michael Corner. :] And Calytrix Zabini and Alethea Chang are my OCs, don't mind me. :D**

**Reviews will bring you a taste of Teddy and chapter 3!**

**-mew! :}**


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